Who are these women? Mo Abudu, Ijeoma Nwaogwuwgu, Stella Din-Jacobs, Kiki Mordi, Kemi Adetiba, Genevieve Nnaji, TY Bello, Jade Osiberu, Maupe Ogun, and Bolanle Austin Peters. These are remarkable women united by their dedication and passion for media and the creative industry.
These women are leaders in journalism, film, and photography, creating opportunities and building impressive portfolios. Whether veterans or newcomers, they consistently break boundaries and go the extra mile. Their relentless drive makes them powerful, exemplifying what it takes to be among the few female leaders in a male-dominated space.
A woman often has to go the extra mile to achieve what a man can with half the effort. To break a glass ceiling, she must endure sleepless nights, work tirelessly, refuse to take no for an answer, take huge risks, and train for years until the perfect opportunity arises for her to wield the hammer of super-competence and finally, shatter that ceiling.
We celebrate these women and others making strides in this space, but let’s pause to ask: Why is that glass ceiling there in the first place? And how can we, as a society, dismantle it once and for all?
Those are not trick questions. However, to answer those questions, we need to first answer simpler ones, like this: What is the ratio of women to men in leadership positions in the Media space in Nigeria? You can guess the ratio based on trends in other sectors. However, let’s review some key statistics together.
Take, for example, the result from the ‘Who Leads the Newsroom and News’ research by Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which revealed a low representation of women in media leadership across the four media genres and 111 media organizations in Nigeria.
According to the report, women accounted for 25.7 percent of leadership positions, while men dominated with 74.3 percent. The print and online platforms exhibited the lowest representation of women at 4.6 percent and 5.5 percent respectively, while radio and television had 9.2 percent and 6.5 percent respectively.
That raises another question: Is there a scarcity of women in journalism, newsrooms, or media? Far from it. There are many women in entry and mid-level positions, but fewer at the top decision-making level.
One would think that the Media, which has done a fine job reporting Nigeria’s National Gender Policy (2006) and reviewed in 2021, would be better at upholding this policy, but the opposite is true.
One of the targets of the National Gender Policy for the media is a 50% Affirmative Action for women in leadership positions in government-owned media houses. Three years after the review of this policy, this is yet to be executed.
There is a risk in lacking DEI programs and ignoring women in Leadership positions and DDI, a global leadership consulting firm, discovered this from their research. From their Global Leadership Forecast Survey, they concluded that women impact the bottom line of
Organizations – Companies in the top 10% for financial performance have more women leaders, up to 29% compared to 23% of the underperforming organizations. In other words, having fewer women in leadership positions could reduce the organization’s chances of future success.
If the government has implemented policies addressing this issue, and non-governmental organizations have conducted research with data supporting these claims, why do these challenges persist?
This is a result of Nigeria’s deeply rooted gender inequality, as it is a patriarchal society. Consequently, women often receive less challenging roles while men dominate leadership positions, even when qualifications are comparable. Unfortunately, this inequality isn’t limited to the workplace; it begins in childhood, where boys are favored for leadership roles over equally qualified girls, setting a precedent for gender bias later in life.
But change is within reach. We can tackle harmful traditions and social norms with fresh ideas, starting with behavioral insights, which shed light on human behavior, informing new ways to engage lawmakers and find effective solutions. Media houses can lead the charge with “gender diversity audits” to pinpoint interventions with lasting impact.
To bridge the gender gap in Nigerian media, we must analyze the root causes of inequality, recommend actionable solutions, and strengthen existing policies with clear implementation plans. This effort requires a multipronged approach addressing societal, organizational, and individual levels of inclusion. Additionally, establishing digital security guidelines and fostering mid-level talent through targeted programs are crucial. Finally, achieving true inclusion demands diverse voices in decision-making across all media value chain levels.
Nengi Diri writes in from Lagos Island, Lagos State.
This opinion article is published in Partnership with the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation as part of its Improving Feminist Leadership Policy in Nigeria project funded by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung to contribute to a more informed, engaging, and collaborative approach to feminist leadership policymaking in Nigeria by leveraging diverse perspectives, resources, and coalition building to address and bridge existing policy gender gaps and actions.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Nengi Diri, and as it relates to the project stated above.
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